Cheap, functional, upgradeable: HP’s Stream and Pavilion Mini desktops reviewed

These inexpensive Windows desktops have a surprising amount to offer.

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[JEDIDIAH]

tjones2[/url]":14ky36kz]Any idea if the Stream Mini (the $180 model) makes a decent HTPC? Or is its CPU and RAM too limited?

The likely sticking point for HTPC use would be the GPU. The video chipset should be doing all of the heavy lifting. The CPU and RAM should be a lot less relevant. These can both be pretty meagre in an HTPC with a good GPU.

 

[JEDIDIAH]

Invid[/url]":334i3qy5]

NeoMorpheus[/url]":334i3qy5]Lovely device.
Need a drive wipe and install Linux and Kodi or just OpenELEC.

Why bother? I've got a quad core z3736 Atom box with just 2GB of ram and Kodi is snappy on it running on top of Windows. Seems like a lot of trouble for no gain on a dedicated box.

Hide the taskbar during the second you see the desktop, boot directly into Kodi, and you'll never even know what's underneath. The Windows overhead is unnoticeable...this isn't a Raspberry Pi.

I'm going to get one of these for my Mom.

The other side of that is that Windows brings little to the table here. At best it's invisible and at worst it's a headache to maintain due to Microsoft's never ending trail of security problems. It's Windows that's a lot of trouble for this kind of application, not Linux.